Wish Upon an Empty Lot
by FireflySummer
Summary: Each of the Avengers and most of their friends, harbor regrets. But there is a shop, hidden in the heart of Tokyo that sells wishes at an appropriate price. One by one, they hear its call and stumble in. What are their hearts desires, and how far will each go to see them through? (A series of one-shots involving the Avengers, their friends, and some enigmatic shopkeepers.)


**The plot bunnies are a'biting again. Oh well.**

**I've wanted to do something with XxxHolic...this is planned for a multi-chapter fic, without any real overarching plot. The goal is a series of one-shots that acts as character studies.**

**It'll be understandable, even if you're unfamiliar with the manga series it's associated with, because the overarching idea is what each of the Marvel characters would wish for, given the appropriate price. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that some may lose to indecision...others would take without heed to the cost...others would negotiate and find an alternate wish...and others would simply walk away.**

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Chapter One: Peggy Carter

The streets of Tokyo were abuzz with excitement, the 1964 Olympics in full swing. Peggy Carter, Director of SHIELD walked among them, listening to the buzz and hum that surrounded her. Somebody, a friendly man from the hotel, had told her that it was probably dangerous for her to walk around unescorted on a day like today, for fear of getting lost in the crowds.

It was dangerous indeed. But only for the poor soul who tried to pick her pocket.

Yes, she was no longer the young woman who had joined up in the fight against Nazis, but age had been kind to her and she was more a danger now than ever before.

But not for today. She hadn't done field work in quite some time, and she wasn't about to start now. Today was her holiday. She had spent so long in the business of secrecy as the world tried to pick up the remains shattered in the wars that it was a breath of fresh air to come to a city rebuilt to the sky.

She had intended just to wander, for the moment, but as she did so something caught her eye. Turning her head fully, Peggy saw a great old shop of a traditional Japanese style, nestled among the newer towers. It seemed a bit strange, because it was far older than anything that surrounded it, and therefore would have had to survive the city bombings.

Really though, the strangest thing of all was that prior to her walking past, she could have sworn that there had been nothing but an empty lot in its place.

Peggy made her way to the gate, placing a hand on the rickety fence the lined the way. The back of her mind said 'curiosity', but that wasn't quite it. There was a need to come here, and with no other way to describe it, she walked through the gates and to the door.

By the time she made it up the steps, she was rethinking her decision, but before she had a chance to retreat, the door swung open.

"_Welcome_!" The bright entreaty was made in Japanese by two nearly identical voices at once, and from beyond the door peered the matching faces: two small girls, one with short pink hair and another with long lavender hair. Peggy had little time to question their strange looks before they'd taken hold of her hands and forcefully pulled her into the shop, swinging the door shut behind her. "_Come in! Come in_!"

"_I need to leave_," Peggy attempted, falling back on her Japanese. During the Cold War and Korean War, SHIELD had played an active part in neutralizing threats in this part of the world, so Peggy had picked up a number of the languages. Unfortunately, since the reconstruction, SHIELD's interests had roamed elsewhere, and she was surprisingly lacking.

"_The mistress awaits you though_." Peggy blinked, retranslating the sentence twice in her head in an attempt to make sure that she'd translated that correctly. Then, by the time she'd formulated a reply, she was already being ushered down the hallway, into a traditional-style drawing room.

Within this room sat an American table and chairs, and upon one sat a woman—tall, with dark hair trailing down her back, with wisps of smoke curling around her face. She didn't seem surprised to see Peggy, instead favoring her with a surprisingly scrutinizing look.

"Come and have a seat dear," the woman said in perfect English, gesturing to the only available seat, "Maru and Moro will fetch us something to eat while we speak."

Peggy obliged, taking a seat and fixing the woman with an equally hard look. There was something…off about her. It was hard to place exactly what, but it set her at edge.

"Now tell me," she said, "What has brought you to my shop?"

"Nothing," Peggy replied, "I just…arrived."

"That is the way of this place, yes," came the reply, "My name is Yuuko Ichihara. I am the keeper of this shop, and am in the business of granting wishes."

"Wishes?" asked Peggy, "Like a genie in a bottle?"

"Not hardly," Yuuko smirked, "I have at least one genie in the bottle, and a number of other wish-granters that you wouldn't want to put your pretty hands on. They are unpredictable, and in the end while your wishes are always granted, they are always the victor."

"And how would you be different?" Peggy continued to look hard at her, trying to tell whether the woman was a con artist of some sort.

"You tell me your wish, and I give you a fair price. There is no room for excess, only an equivalent exchange. You will know exactly what you are paying for."

"But not the after effects?" Peggy said cheekily.

"That requires an extra sum," Yuuko grinned at her audacity.

"What if I said I didn't believe you?"

"Then you would not be here right now. The shop only calls to those with wishes…those with hearts who would pay any price to see them fulfilled. And you, Director Peggy Carter of SHIELD, have seen far stranger things than a wish-granting witch."

Peggy jolted, suddenly paling. "How do you know who I am?"

Yuuko stretched forth a hand, revealing a familiar leather wallet. _Her_ leather wallet.

"Not a magic trick…just a sleight of hand. I expected more from a super spy."

Peggy snatched the wallet back, checking to make sure all the cards were present as the two girls returned with food and drink. She thought on Yuuko's words while they sat and ate, and so was the first one to break the silence when they were again alone.

"You were right," she said, "I do have a wish."

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Peggy Carter left the shop and returned to the main road, heart pounding as she replayed the conversation again and again in her mind.

_"You have decided?"_

_"Yes." It wasn't a hard decision to make._

_"Very well then…I will ensure the survival of Captain Steve Rogers," Yuuko smiled at her, but it wasn't a wicked smile. It was…sad, but approving. "But as a result, know that even when he is found, you will never see him again. That is your price."_

_"I accept it."_

_Yuuko's smile grew larger at the sound of her conviction. Peggy got up to leave, collecting her shoes by the door and making sure that none other of her personal belongings had been appropriated. _

_"The world is changing, Agent Carter. Lead it."_

Her more logical side wanted to forget the happenings of the little shop, or discount the woman's words as folly or black magic. Yet, there was something undeniable about that she couldn't quite get out of her mind. She walked on without turning back.

But if she had she would have seen only an empty lot, long grass waving in the wind to welcome in the Summer Olympics of 1964.

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**Any of my history buddies are probably yelling at me for inaccuracies. Oh well. I at least tried to keep with the time periods. XD**


End file.
